Industry Exposed with Teradata: "Always Start with Data"

In the latest edition of our Industry Exposed interview series we sit down with Itay Levy, Managing Director Mobile CoE of Terdata, to discuss the importance of data and how it will change the mobile marketing landscape. We also discuss the value of push notifications and the three most important elements in order to make the message engaging.

Can you briefly present Teradata in general and its mobile division in particular? What does “Center of Excellence” mean for you? What is your role?

Teradata specializes in big data, analytics and marketing applications. At the mobile center of excellence we develop technologies to help marketers leverage the power of mobile to reach their customers in the most individualized way possible. As technology progresses, mobile devices present more and more opportunities for marketers, but with that come also the challenges. With all the information you are able to send to your users, the challenge is to send the right information to the right users at the right time.

What are the specificities of mobile when it comes to leveraging big data for marketing purposes? What are mobile’s biggest challenges?

Since mobile devices are used by the same individual and are carried with that individual almost 24/7, the insights that can be driven out of the usage of mobile devices are far more advanced than any other device. Used correctly, these insights enable marketers to learn the behaviour patterns of their audience and drive individualized marketing campaigns.

The biggest challenge with mobile apps is to push users down your funnel. We know that more than 80% of the apps downloaded are being deleted after only one use. It’s not because the app is not valuable - obviously it was valuable enough to the user to spend time downloading it in the first place. It is mostly because people are just busy. They download an app for a specific purpose at the time they need it, whether it is to buy something, pass the time as they are waiting somewhere or get updated with the news. But then they get too busy to use the app again or they forget about it altogether. So the big challenge of marketers is to look beyond the download on how they keep users engaged over time and how they bring back all those dormant users.

Do you think push notifications are the most efficient way for app publishers to engage with their users? What are the elements of a good push notification?

Yes, push notifications are the most efficient way for app publishers to engage with their users. We learned on a recent research that we conducted at Teradata that 77% of the top grossing gaming apps are sending push notifications. There is a reason why these apps are the top grossing ones, and of course the quality of the app is a part of it, but their ability to re-engage users and maximize the revenue from each download they get is another key part.

A good push notification should contain 3 key elements: value, personalization and a call for an action. This is on the individual message level. But before you get to actually crafting these messages, what’s crucial is to actually have a strategy in place: to know your users, learn their behaviour and needs, and build a funnel which you’ll push your users into. You need to set clear KPIs and tracking tools to measure the performance of your campaigns. Then, when you have the strategy, the KPIs and the right tool to execute and measure the results, only then you start crafting the messages to match each stage of your funnel.

Teradata also offers SMS and mobile email campaigns; what do these channels have in common? What sets them apart?

Most emails are open on mobile today, so in a sense you can think of all 3 channels (email, push messages and SMS) as a way to reach your customer on mobile. But there is a key difference: Push notifications are much more compatible to mobile. They are short, focused and call for immediate action. An email is usually longer and contains more information, so it is less actionable. SMS is more expensive than email and push as you have to pay an SMS provider and also some people see marketing with SMS as intrusive.

A relevant segmentation of an app’s users is paramount for efficient app marketing, but far from evident. What tips would you give app publishers and marketers in that regard?

When you have a strategy in place and you know your KPIs, it is much easier to answer that question. There is also a big difference between industries. A gaming app is different than a shopping app, and even within each industry there can be huge differences between apps.

The biggest tip is to start with data. Learn your users, their behavior, their preferences, the time of day they are active, they average purchase etc. Learn who your top users are, the ones that are the most active or profitable for you and learn what is in common to all of them. Then try to see how you can get the other groups to be more like those top users and how your messages can push them towards the next step of the funnel.

Do you think that, ultimately, you can adapt messages to each single individual user?

Yes. It is already done today. Mobile apps allow us such a deep level of insights, that smart marketers can then leverage to send truly individualized messages. You can add dynamic fields into the message to include personalized information, such as name, location, last item searched for or last article read and you can provide content recommendations based on past content consumed inside the app.

What will be the major mobile trend of 2016?

I do not see into the future… but if I must try then I would say that messaging as a platform, Viber, wechat, line, and other companies will grow along with their offering and partners. Also Apple watch is going to be much bigger than it is right now. Currently it is kind of an extension for the notifications of the phone, but with iOS 9 they changed it and now it can have stand alone apps which is a big step in the right direction.

Itay Levy
Itay is the Managing Director Mobile Center of Excellence, Teradata Applications. Itay is the former CEO of Appoxee, a mobile marketing automation platform designed by marketers for marketers to increase engagement, retention and revenues to mobile apps now integrated with Teradata. Prior to Appoxee, Itay was part of the founding team of Buzzmetrics, a consumer research marketing company acquired by Nielsen.